Smoobu vs Rentals United (2025): Find the Best Solution for Your Vacation Rental Business
When choosing the best vacation rental software in 2025, two names that frequently come up are Smoobu vs Rentals United. But if you’re a host, property manager, or running a short-term rental business, which is better: Smoobu or Rentals United?
In this detailed guide, we’ll compare Smoobu and Rentals United across essential categories, including channel management, booking engine, mobile app, customer service, and more.
Based on independent research, user reviews, and real-world experiences, we’ll explore the difference between Smoobu and Rentals United to help you make the right choice for your vacation rental property or short-term rental.
Which Vacation Rental Software Has the Best Channel Manager?
Smoobu: Smart, Real-Time Sync for Every Booking Channel
Smoobu’s award-winning Channel Manager provides seamless, real-time synchronization across leading booking platforms, including Airbnb, Booking.com, and Expedia. This eliminates double bookings and manual calendar management, streamlining the process. With iCal sync and API sync, your reservation processes run smoothly and efficiently.
Beyond synchronization, hosts and vacation rental or property managers of all kinds can benefit from analytics, unified dashboards, and a unified pricing strategy. The user-friendly interface is optimized for both beginners and pros.
Rentals United: Complex Setup and Limited Real-Time Updates
While Rentals United connects to many OTAs, its channel manager often requires extended integration time and more technical involvement. Some users report missing updates, syncing delays, or a lack of customization options for sponsored profiles, custom commissions, and tracking.
See how Smoobu’s simplified Channel Manager works.
Which Has the Most Effective Website Builder?
Smoobu: Fast, Customizable, and SEO-Friendly
Smoobu includes a native Website Builder at no additional cost with responsive website templates, real-time availability display, and instant booking capability. With SSL protection, multi-lingual websites, and full content sync, it empowers hosts to take control of their digital journey.
Smoobu’s Website Builder is designed for conversion and to promote direct bookings, featuring an integrated booking engine and an uncluttered design. This means that creating your very own proprietary site takes just a few minutes, not hours. This combination of easy-to-use and comprehensive is tough to match.
Rentals United: No Website Builder Included
Rentals United advertises its Website Builder feature as an add-on to its platform, rather than a core built-in feature. To see examples, you also need to sign up and discuss the platform with a dedicated member of the team, unlike with Smoobu, where you can jump in yourself for free and try out the Website Builder for yourself.
Launch your Smoobu booking-ready website.
Which Booking Engine Converts More Guests?
Smoobu: Commission-Free and Fully Integrated
Smoobu’s booking engine lets you accept direct reservations with no commission. Integrated with Stripe, PayPal, and trust accounting options, it provides fast and secure payment processing.
With automated messaging, request-to-book tools, and Guest Communication tools, Smoobu streamlines every step of the guest journey. It’s built to enhance customer experience while driving revenue growth.
Best of all, it’s connected directly to your calendar, availability, and Reservation Management tools—creating a frictionless system.
Rentals United: External Booking Engine Required
Rentals United does not provide a native booking engine. Hosts must use third-party services, which often lead to longer integration times, additional costs, and reduced control over guest communications and content management.
Boost direct bookings with Smoobu’s built-in Booking Engine.
Which Supports Dynamic and Automated Pricing?
Smoobu: Flexible Integrations for Smart Revenue
Smoobu offers a dynamic pricing feature for just €12.99 per month for each property under all paid subscriptions. This makes it a cost-effective option compared to many other vacation rental platforms. With this feature, hosts can automatically adjust their prices based on factors such as seasonality, demand, and occupancy. This ensures competitive pricing without the need for daily manual updates.
Smoobu also integrates well with top revenue management tools, such as PriceLabs, Beyond, and Wheelhouse. These tools provide advanced pricing automation and valuable market insights. This integration allows users to adjust their pricing strategies across all channels more easily.
Smoobu helps you manage rates by setting rules, handling promotions, and syncing prices across your booking platforms. Its open ecosystem supports Open API connections, which is great for developers or tech-savvy property managers who want to create custom pricing workflows.
Rentals United: Less Flexible and Tiered Access
Rentals United does not provide a built-in dynamic pricing tool within its core platform. Instead, it integrates with third-party pricing solutions such as PriceLabs and Beyond. This means that users must manage their pricing separately and may incur additional fees.
In contrast, Smoobu’s native Dynamic Pricing feature allows hosts greater flexibility and a fully integrated experience. With Smoobu, users can save time and effort by requiring less setup and fewer tools.
Automate your revenue with Smoobu’s innovative pricing tool.
Which Mobile App Delivers the Best Experience?
Smoobu: Manage Everything From Your Pocket
Smoobu’s mobile app is built for hosts on the go. Whether using an iPhone or Android app, you get full access to booking management, calendar sync, automated messaging, and even team management tools.
The user interface is clean and intuitive, offering notifications, real-time updates, and task management—all optimized for mobile use. It’s like having your entire property management system in the palm of your hand.
Rentals United: Limited Mobile Functionality
Rentals United’s app offers basic functionality, often requiring a desktop login for advanced operations. Those looking to use Rentals United for a variety of features on the go will be limited to viewing upcoming bookings, checking availability, and accessing guest contact details.
While helpful, the app does lack advanced features necessary for a fully streamlined and automated guest experience.
Why not try Smoobu on either iOS or Android?
Who Has the Best Customer Support?
Smoobu: Multilingual, Fast, and Personal
Smoobu’s customer service team is available in multiple languages and has a vast help center. Likewise, they have multiple touchpoints available for users and prospective users to contact them. This means that, regardless of your enquiry, you will be able to get in touch with a knowledgeable in-house representative.
Smoobu’s support is included in every plan, with no hidden upsells, unlike some other software providers.
Rentals United: Slow, Tiered Support
Those looking to contact Rentals United seem to need to designate whether they are a user or not, and also specify what type of user they are. This could result in different response times depending on the information provided. Likewise, the contact form on the website is the only way to contact Rentals United.
Experience Smoobu’s top-tier support.
Smoobu vs. Rentals United Comparison Table
| Feature | Smoobu | Rentals United |
| Channel Manager | Real-time, automated sync | Complex setup, slower updates |
| Website Builder | Built-in, customizable | Not included, only available as an add-on |
| Booking Engine | Native, commission-free | Third-party integration required |
| Dynamic Pricing | Integrates with major tools & offers a built-in solution | Third-party integration required |
| Mobile App | Full-featured iOS/Android apps | Basic and limited |
| Guest Communication | Automated messaging, inbox, templates | Requires additional tools |
| Customer Support | Fast, multilingual, and included in the plan | Slower, tiered |
| Free Trial | 14 days, full access, no card required | Demo only upon request |
Final Take: Which Is Better, Smoobu or Rentals United?
When comparing Smoobu and Rentals United, Smoobu presents a variety of features that may align well with the needs of vacation rental hosts. Smoobu includes multi-lingual websites, automated guest messaging, and real-time updates as part of its offerings.
While Rentals United could be a viable option for certain users, Smoobu’s pricing structure, tools, and automation may be more appealing to independent hosts and boutique brands looking to expand their business.
Smoobu offers a 14-day free trial with no credit card requirement or setup fees, allowing users to assess its capabilities for managing vacation rental properties.
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